I’m attending a Lake Washington Technical College event this morning. They are holding a fundraising breakfast for the LWTC Foundation.
Should be a good event.
The keynote speaker is Eddie Barbini, Executive Producer of the Discovery Channel’s popular reality show, Dirty Jobs. Mike Rowe, star of the show, will make a special video appearance.
I’m hoping to meet some new people and make some positive contacts.
I’m thinking of joining the Master Builder’s Association in King County. Does anyone have experience with them? Thoughts? Good networking group?
On Nov. 1, I am attending a 300 plus networking meeting in Lynnwood. Bring your business cards and 30 second commercial and get prepared to meet people.
The key to this meeting is the follow up. After the meeting, send a thank you card and then call within a week to set up an appointment. When you have 300 plus people, you can’t sell anything. You just want to meet them and find something in common with them or better yet some problem they are having so that you can set an appointment to help them out.
Let me know if you want to go so I can register you. It’s Free!
Ovaleye posted a review of the book The Referral Engine. I’m going to have t
o check it out. I’ve put a link back to their blog below. Here is an excerpt…
The Referral Engine
By John Jantsch
It goes without saying that referrals are one of the best and least expensive ways of obtaining customers. In this book the author, John Jantsch, provides great detail regarding identifying, attracting and maintaining referral sources. While the book is full of great information earning it a good rating, I like to also rate the books I read on how much buzz they create around the Ovaleye office. The relatively low buzz factor this time held the rating to a 4.
The final chapter of the book provided a good summary of what was learned in the previous chapters. Summarizing the summary even further it went about like this.
I read this blog article today. It was fanastic. Ivan Misner really summed it up here.
http://networking.entrepreneur.com/2010/09/16/the-networking-disconnect/
What do you think?
My wife and I had our third child about a month ago. So for the last couple of months I’ve been out of it. I was at a networking meeting this morning and I was struggling to just function normally.
I think I’m getting back into the rhythm of things.
One thing to consider. When you are at a networking event, think of at least two people you want to get to know better. Invite them to coffee, lunch or a 20 minute meeting to learn more about what you both do. –This moves the business relationship along–.
And, it can be fun…..
For those of you who know me, you know I am a big fan of Jeffrey Gitomer. I found this video on YouTube about building relationships. I thought it was interesting…
Part of my philosophy is, I don’t expect to receive a referral until I’ve given on. So, the big question is, how do I find people I can refer. I’ve been struggling with this question for quite some time.
Over the last two weeks, I’ve given out 10 referrals. It’s been the most I’ve ever done.
I started looking at the way I do business and asking myself, how can I try and get a referral for someone in my normal day to day business. I think I struck a goldmine, and I haven’t yet scratched the surface. For my business, I regularly meet with clients. I sat down and said what questions am I asking and how can I add one more question to generate a referral to a business partner. It’s worked so far.
Take a look at your business. Is there one thing you can do or say to find a potential referral?
First tip – give out referrals yourself. Look at your business and find a way to find out what your customers need. Maybe you can’t solve it for them, but you can give them a name of someone who can and let them know they will be calling.
Second tip – become the expert in your field. It’s not who you know, it is who knows you. Make sure you have a good reputation and that people can trust you. Overtime this will pay off big for you.
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